UConn offense draws ire of coach Randy Edsall

STORRS >> The first batch of dropped passes drew little reaction from UConn football coach Randy Edsall. However, with each mistake by the Huskies’ starting offense, Edsall’s frustration began to grow. Edsall barked a few words, but the full brunt of his wrath wasn’t felt until the 11-on-11 drills ended at Sunday’s practice.

With the entire offensive unit gathered around him, he let loose with a tongue lashing that if broadcast on television or radio, the Federal Communications Commission would have been ready to levy plenty of fines. He chuckled when he was asked if he was miffed at what he witnessed, admitting that miffed was simply not going to capture the rage he was feeling.

“The offense was bad today, just a lack of focus and concentration,” Edsall said. “The leadership council, the guys on offense, I got on them, that is their job to make sure that their unit has come out here focused and ready to go. They didn’t do a good job today, they understand that. You can’t come out here, not be focused and ready to get better. I thought the defense did a really good job of being focused and got better, while the offense, they were out here with the effort to endure. It is that will to win versus the effort to endure. The defense had the will to win today, the offense had the effort to endure and that is not going to get us to were we want to. That is really the first day I have seen that so we will get it straightened around, get it taken care of.”

A week has passed since Edsall revealed the depth to his offense, and he was expecting more than dropped passes and too many missed or shoddy blocking assignments. If any of the offensive players wondered about Edsall’s opinion of the morning practice, it didn’t take long for them to get the point.

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“We came out flat, we didn’t have a lot of enthusiasm so I think that played a big part in the way we practiced today,” starting quarterback David Pindell said. “Our goal is to come out better, stronger, a lot more energized on offense.”

It’s been a week since Edsall announced that Pindell is the Huskies’ starting quarterback, beating out former starter Bryant Shirreffs. When Pindell committed to UConn out of Lackawanna College, a two-year school in Scranton, Pa., he knew he would have a chance to win the starting job. Having it happen just two weeks into preseason camp was a bit surprising.

“I was pretty shocked,” Pindell said. “I didn’t say too much about it. I learned that is was my role so I wanted to go from there. It had been only two weeks, I thought he was going to wait it out until the end of camp, but they made the decision early.”

While Pindell is new to UConn, running back Arkeel Newsome, receivers Hergy Mayala and Tyraiq Beals, tight ends Alec Bloom and Tommy Myers as well as offensive linemen Tommy Hopkins, Ryan Crozier, Matthew Peart and Trey Rutherford are returning starters. Redshirt freshman Cam DeGeorge was named the starting right offensive guard on the same day that Pindell became the top QB. The position battles out of the way, the focus should be on putting a game plan together for the Aug. 31 season opener against Holy Cross.

“You have three weeks when he is trying to learn the system, learn (about) the guys he is playing with, trying to compete for a job,” UConn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. “After that, you have to get comfortable yourself before you can insert yourself so it is tough. Fortunately, I have been in this situation before. We have thrown a lot at him in three weeks now we are starting to game plan and pare things down so hopefully that will help.

“David is a quiet kid, he is all about his business. He is a very mature did. He doesn’t do a lot of goofing around, he wants to be good, he studies hard, studies the (play) book wants to know what to do. He is starting to speak up.”

Defensively, defensive linemen Kevin Murphy and A.J. Garson saw plenty of first-team reps ahead of returning starters Foley Fatukasi and Cole Ormsby. Redshirt junior Sheriden Lawley is also pushing for a significant role up front. True freshman Omar Fortt and redshirt freshman Tyler Coyle are seeing time with the starting defensive backfield. One defensive player who won’t be on the field for a while is defensive lineman Philippe Okounam who recently underwent surgery to repair a torn lateral collateral ligament. The knee injury could sideline him for the season.

Richmond official

Former Ansonia High and UConn quarterback Luke Richmond was at practice but not as a spectator. He has worked his way up to be an official on crews assigned to call Mid-American Conference games. He was one of the officials brought in to allow the Huskies to practice in front of college officials.

“It has turned into a passion, something I really love to do,” Richmond said. “It is like being on a team. There are eight of us on the field, we all have strengths and weaknesses, but we all gel just like when you play football.

“I love talking to the quarterback before the game, talking to the center. It is an emotional game so if a coach yells at you like Randy just yelled at them ... These guys out here they put in a ton of hours and this is their job, this is their livelihood. My job is to go out there and do the best possible game that I can do for myself and the guys on the field.”

Richmond, who started at quarterback for two games in each of the 1999 and 2000 seasons, is among the alumni happy to see Edsall back in charge of the UConn program.

“I felt like we needed stability,” Richmond said. “I was not able to see many games but the ones I did see, was pretty tough to watch. When I heard he was coming back, I was very happy and I know that his track record shows he can improve and develop a program. He can win games, win it the right way and academically graduate kids.”